House District 28 representing a portion of Louisville in the Kentucky House of Representatives is a hotly contested race, with no pro-LGBTI candidates. In this election, when the Kentucky General Assembly failed to pass a budget, which will cause a lot of Kentucky’s Government to shut down on June 01, 2010, no pro-gay candidate is running for office in House District 28.

Facing a deadline of midnight tonight to adjourn, legislative leaders have yet to agree on a budget. Governor Beshear told Kentucky lawmakers to “get their egos under control” and produce a budget by midnight as Kentuckians expect. Currently, the new budget has no funding for the Kentucky AIDS Drug Assistance Program, but an effort led by Kentucky Equality Federation effectively killed House Bill 350, a bill that would have dismantled the education and prevention efforts performed by the Kentucky HIV/AIDS Branch, a unit of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services.

Budget negotiations in Frankfort collapsed Wednesday amid enormous differences over a sliver of the spending plan that would create a spate of state-backed construction projects while adding to the Commonwealth’s debt. Organizations across the Commonwealth have expressed alarm and dismay that the budget will be passed that does not include funding for the Kentucky AIDS Drug Assistance Program (KADAP).

In a series of condemnations and action alerts to raise public awareness of bad legislation, Kentucky Equality Federation, now joined by the Kentucky HIV/AIDS Advocacy Action Group condemned House Bill 350. With Kentucky’s economy in ruins, additional human services are expected to be cut by lawmakers before the end of the 2010 legislative session.

If ever there were a roller-coaster year, 2009 was it. A we await the new year, Kentucky’s exhausted LGBTI civil rights leaders, as well as the thousands of activist, supporters, and allies enjoy some much needed downtime before it all starts again in 2010.

Election 2010 could bring additional changes to Kentucky’s political makeup. Democrats have taken additional seats in the Kentucky Senate, and the Commonwealth has two openly gay men running for the Kentucky House of Representatives. One key to victory for gay politicians has been building reputations in their communities as candidates well qualified for the job. Voters who may be uncomfortable with homosexuality in the abstract are often willing to vote for a gay individual they feel they know, political strategists claim.

Earlier this week, Garrard County resident Roger Ayres filed to run against Representative Lonnie Napier (R) in the 36th District because “U.S. President Obama saying the United States is no longer a Christian nation made my blood boil.”

Representative Mary Lou Marzian (D-Louisville) pre-filed legislation to overturn Kentucky’s same-sex marriage, civil unions, and the domestic partnerships ban. Marzian, a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives since 1994 told United We Stand News™ that she filed the legislation “to let Kentucky’s LGBT citizens know that there are people in the General Assembly who believe that all Kentuckians deserve justice and fairness.”

Matthew Vanderpool (D-Lexington), an openly gay male is running against conservative incumbent Stan Lee (R-Lexington). If elected, Vanderpool would be the only gay lawmaker in Kentucky. Representative Lee has been responsible for filing a lot of anti-gay legislation.